7/11/11 Congress TrailSequoia National ParkThree Rivers, CA

The Congress Trail is a two mile long paved trail that wanders through a giant sequoia tree grove. If you only have a limited amount of time in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, this is the hike to do. Along this trail, you will see the House and Senate groups of giant sequoia trees, the President tree, the General Sherman tree, the General Lee tree, the President McKinley tree, and the Chief Sequoyah tree.The General Sherman tree is the world's largest living thing in terms of volume. It's trunk has a circumference of 109 feet! There are branches near the top of the tree that are a greater diameter than all but the largest trees in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The House and Senate are groups of giant sequoias growing close together. The President is a massive single tree near the Senate. The McKinley tree is another massive tree off by itself, and there is a clear viewpoint nearby where you can get the entire tree in one photograph.

You will see fire scars on the trunks of the sequoia trees. The bark of the sequoias is very fire-resistant. The fires allow the sequoia seeds to break free from their thick outer coating and germinate. The fires also help to clear out other trees around the sequoias that compete for nutrients and sunlight.

You can't help but feel humbled walking through these giant trees, and I really can't describe the feeling I felt being in their presence. These trees are so unbelievably massive, and so old (almost 3,000 years old and still living), it blows the mind to think about. The pictures you see below do not do these giant living trees justice. You simply have to experience them for yourself.